Tuesday, June 14, 2011

What Will You Say If Casey Anthony Is Acquitted?

After my last post, where I criticized the lawyer frenzy of commentary on the Casey Anthony case, I was immediately asked if I was going to write about the case. I said no. I would not be writing about the case. I would not be picking apart the evidence, the lawyers (on either side), the judge, witnesses, or any other aspect of the case. I'm not there. I'm watching bits and pieces, and it's not my case.

I've accepted an interview once during the trial, by a reporter I know and respect, who had one question regarding whether it's common to see a certain type of evidence in a case. Easy question, and the answer wouldn't involve me pontificating about a death penalty trial 200 miles away.

In not "writing about the case" though, I do have a question: What if she's acquitted?

I'm not saying she will be, or even that it's likely, but anyone who has ever entered a courtroom knows that you can never say what a jury will do.

The hate mob surrounding the defense in this case is as big as it gets. I have read nothing negative about the prosecution. Nothing negative about the judge. This was not the case in O.J. Simpson, where both the defense and prosecution and judge were the subject of the public's scorn. In OJ, the defense had the best mob, simply because Simpson was a popular figure. Casey Anthony is hated.

So I ask, if she is acquitted, will Baez be a hero? Will it be because the jury was stupid? Will it be because the judge did something wrong? What will be the take from the anonymous commenters on newspaper websites and from lawyers who have been spending months critical of everything defense?